News / Afghanistan

Head of Kabul Ulema Council killed in attack by unknown gunmen

Saturday, 24 November 2018 1:11 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 24 November 2018 1:20 PM ]

The undated photo shows the slain head of Kabul Ulema Council, Mawlavi Abdul Basir Haqqani.

The head of Kabul Ulema Council, where Afghanistan's top religious leaders gather, has been killed by armed men in the capital, official sources say.

Mawlavi Abdul Basir Haqqani was found dead on a road in Chehel Sutun area at around 2 p.m. on Saturday. Some eyewitnesses said he was shot in the head.

The head of Kabul police media office, Basir Mujahid, confirmed the deadly incident, saying that the perpetrator had been arrested.

The death comes just a few days after a huge explosion ripped through a building in Kabul, killing 55 people, including religious scholars.

Similarly, a bomber detonated his explosives among the participants of Friday prayers in a mosque in an army base in the eastern province of Khost, killing at least 26 people and wounding 50 others.

PressTV-Friday prayers bombing kills 26 Afghan security guards

Some 50 people were also wounded in the bomb attack at a mosque in Khost province.

Captain Abdullah, a military spokesman in the province, said all those killed in the blast were working for the security forces.

The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Since late last year, Daesh, which has already lost all its urban strongholds in Syria and Iraq, has taken advantage of the chaos in Afghanistan and established a foothold in the Asian country’s eastern and northern regions, launching brutal attacks against civilians and security forces alike.

According to Afghan intelligence documents, Daesh is present in nine provinces, from Nangarhar and Kunar in the east to Jawzjan, Faryab, and Badakhshan in the north, and Ghor in the central west.

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